Kochi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will inaugurate the ‘Manorama News Conclave’ at Lulu Bolgatty International Convention Centre in Kochi on Friday morning. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will be the chief guest at the valedictory meeting of the event in the evening.

The main topic of the conclave is ‘India – pace and progress’. Discussions at the event will assess the direction, speed, hopes and challenges related to the progress of the country. 

Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president and MP Gaurav Gogoi and ad filmmaker-actor Prakash Varma will share their thoughts during the morning session. AVA Group managing director A V Anoop and MyG India chairman A K Shaji will take part in a discussion on ‘Business and artificial intelligence’.

The afternoon sessions will start with a debate on the direction taken by the country, which will be attended by MPs Tejasvi Surya of the BJP and Praniti Shinde of the Congress.

CPM state secretary M V Govindan, KPCC president Sunny Joseph and BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar will take part in a discussion on the upcoming 2026 Assembly elections in the state.

Jain University Director Tom Joseph and Learnfluence managing director Orwell Lionel will share ideas on the opportunities in the educational sector.

In subsequent sessions, Shweta Menon, the first woman president of AMMA, an association of Malayalam film actors, will explain her future plans, and Air India vice-president Viju Chacko will speak on the progress of artificial intelligence in India.

In another session, columnist Rammohan Paliyath and actor-presenter Varsha Ramesh will discuss the interventions made by influencers utilising social media.

Later, Bose Varghese, senior advisor (ESG) of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, will speak on the social relevance of the environment.

Director Jeethu Joseph and actors Asif Ali and Unnimaya Prasad will share their insights at ‘Thrill Thrillarilo’, a session on the changes in Malayalam cinema.

Invitees to the conclave have been advised to enter the hall before 9.15 am. They should carry the invitation letter for security purposes. Details are available at www.manoramanewsconclave.com